Why does my rat drink water from his paws instead of lapping it up? He has both a water bottle and bowl

Question

I rescued him from a lady who kept him in a tiny cage and he was covered in urine. He is very friendly, playful, and healthy. At first I thought he was washing his hands in the water bowl but he his drinking the water from his paws instead of lapping it up like my other two. Is this common or normal?

Answer 1

i would not worry about it. rats are very clean animals that prefer to keep their face dry, hes probably just using his little hands as a cup and getting a bath too. its nothing to worry about

Answer 2

wow i think thats rare thats cool you must have an very smart rat good luck

Answer 3

maybe this is because of how he was in his other cage. The water mite have been bad or stale so he would pick it up to 'check it'. This has now become a habit and just a way of life for him.

Answer 4

My rats alternate between lapping and cupping water. They have dishes and bottles. I don't think cupping is abnormal. I have one rat who sticks her entire head under water, up to the ears, when she drinks from the bowl.

Answer 5

It will probably just be a behavioral problem from his abuse - I've never seen a rat do that so he may not have had a proper water bottle and so doesn't know how to use it - he may not be used to lapping up water either or if he was covered in urine originally, it may be that his water was constantly so dirty that he licked it off his paws to avoid the taste or check it?

Either way, I wouldn't really encourage you using a water bowl for any of your rats - the water can get contaminated easily or spill over - in particular, if your new rat is drinking from it with his paws he could make himself ill from dirtying the water - rats are very clean, but they still walk around in bedding they have peed on. I would suggest you take out his water bowl and replace it with a water bottle than he can reach - then regularly show him that by tapping the tip with your finger, water comes out - water may drip from the tip onto the floor of his cage anyway, so he'll know thats his water source - I'm sure he'll get the hang of it very quickly, but if you're at all worried about him dehydrating, treat him with water-based vegetables such as lettuce or cucumber to keep up his water intake until he understands how to use the bottle.

How old is your rat? I'm sure if you already have another pair, you know that rats are highly social creatures and thrive when they live in groups - particularly if they're shy or have suffered abuse in the past. Males can be quite difficult to mix, so if he's any older than about 6 months, it's probably not worth it, and you'd be better off just giving him lots and lots of extra attention throughout his life to make up for his lack of a cage mate. If he's still quite young though, I'd really recommend you get him a companion.

Hope this helps!

Answer 6

It's perfectly normal. How he drinks the water isn't important. It is important that he's drinking the water, which he is. :)

All of my rats have water bottles, but my foster cat drinks water by scooping it up with her paw.

It's just a quirky trait. :)